I found this book an…interesting modern day cops and robbers tale, made more timely by the event in Waco.
It is the story of the Minnesota Hells Angel president (for 21 years) Pat Matter and the law enforcement officer that put him away (Chris Omodt), told from their own perspectives.
Book Cover
The chapters of the book alternate between the two authors telling the story of the sameevents from their different sides of the law. An interesting approach to storytelling I have not seen very often.
Matter’s story is of his rise as an outlaw biker and how he became a, kind of, legit businessman was very interesting. In particular his struggle, when he was at the peak of outlaw and businessman, of wanting to let go of the outlaw was enthralling.
Omodt’s tale was a bit drearier, but it has be hard to punch up the slog of gathering and documenting intel to make the case against the Hells Angles. I did find it interesting that so little was known about biker gangs in that era and that law enforcement in Minnesota had no real structure for working long term, grind it out slowly cases.
Now with that said you have to take everything with a grain of salt. You could tell that both authors left a lot unsaid in this story. Maybe it is because Matters did not want to become a bigger “rat” then he is already perceived and that Omodt wanted to polish his image or protect the blue line but I had a feeling throughout the story that things were missing.
I am only giving it 4 out of 5 stars due to the fact that I “felt” there are parts missing from the story that could better explain what occurred. Also I think the book could have used tighter editing. Maybe a better editor could have enticed more from the authors. But, with that said it is an entertaining read.
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 